BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Erik Bedard struggled with his control Sunday in a rough spring training debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The left-hander gave up two runs in two innings in an 8-5 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bedard hit the first batter he faced, gave up a double to Travis Snider, walked two and struck out one.
Snider was 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs for the Jays. He had a run-scoring single in the fourth. In the sixth, Snider got two RBIs with a grounder to reliever Evan Meek.
First baseman Jeff Clement didn’t cover the bag, so Meek had to outrun Snider for the out. Jonathan Diaz scored from third base and Anthony Gose scored from second on the play.
Blue Jays left-hander Aaron Laffey, who is competing for a rotation spot, had a 1-2-3 first inning. In the second, he allowed a run on singles by Rod Barajas, Matt Hague and Chase d’Arnaud.
Barajas went 2 for 2 with two RBIs. Nick Evans homered for the Pirates.
Bedard signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract in December. With A.J. Burnett (fractured orbital bone) out until at least early May, Bedard could be the Pirates’ opening day starter.
